Rising To The Top
Rising to the top.
That might as well be the theme to the 2020 Butler County cross country season.
The county coaches recently named their all-star team. Successful climbs were rewarded many times over.
Butler junior CJ Singleton and Knoch senior Mike Formica — WPIAL Class 3A and 2A champions, respectively — were named Co-Runners of the Year on the boys side. Seneca Valley senior Dylan Kirchner was the girls Runner of the Year.
Singleton was undefeated all season, setting some course records along the way. He won the WPIAL meet in 15 minutes, 50 seconds, beating out teammate Sage Vavro, and placed sixth at the PIAA meet.
“Those guys are both juniors and they'll get better by continuing to work the way they have,” Butler coach Rick Davanzati said. “CJ plays basketball, too, but always gets his running in.“He'll run before basketball practice or afterward, depending on the practice schedule.”Davanzati, named Boys Coach of the Year in the county, said he was amazed by Vavro's progress.“Sage missed a good third of the season because of shin problems,” the coach said. “He rode the stationary bike every day and conditioned that way. He ran an amazing race at the WPIAL meet.”Formica dealt with medical issues of his own in the 2019 season, missing much of that campaign. He returned in time for the WPIAL meet, but had not run in the previous three weeks and placed around 70th.“I wasn't happy at all about that, but I knew I had another year and I was going to make the most of it,” Formica said.He certainly did.Unbeaten in section meets this year, Formica won the WPIAL 2A meet in 16:15, topping a field of 206 runners. He recently signed a letter of intent to run at Youngstown State University, where he will study exercise science.“Being named Co-Runner of the Year is very special to me,” Formica said. “I know there are a lot of incredibly talented runners in this county. I'm honored to receive that award.”
On the girls side, Kirchner placed 12th at the WPIAL 3A championships and qualified for the PIAA meet.“For much of the season, we had two or three girls challenging to be our top runner,” Seneca Valley coach Steve Strelick said. “Dylan emerged from that group and finished the year very strong.“I know she's going to compete in college, either in the triathlon or cross country.”Kirchner opted for the triathlon, committing recently to Wingate University in North Carolina.“Combining the disciplines of biking and swimming with running is very exciting to me,” she said.“Getting to the state meet was a highlight for me this season. More importantly, gaining support from my teammates and being able to support them during this pandemic meant a lot to me.”Moniteau's Zoe McDowell and North Catholic's Stacy Kopchak were named Co-Coaches of the Year on the girls side.The Trojanettes won the WPIAL 2A team championship, placing five girls among the top 30 in the race. North Catholic only had five girls on its roster when the school formed its cross country team in 2014.Moniteau finished second to North Clarion in the District 9 championship meet. The Warriors had no runners make first team on the county all-star team.“We started a little rough. We weren't that fast early in the season,” McDowell admitted. “But these girls never stopped working.“By the time the district meet rolled around, they put up some very good times. They fought for it. They didn't give up on their season early.”McDowell was quick to point to the Moniteau school district as a strong base for success.“The entire Moniteau community is so supportive, from the parents all the way up to the school board and everyone in between,” she said. “That makes a huge difference.”
